Feeling a sudden surge of courage, Cora blurted out her next question: “Would you like to come to church with us on Sunday?”
Roy seemed to freeze, his flask of coffee stopping midair just before it reached his mouth. He lowered it and looked at Cora.
“You mean, with you and your father? In Magnolia Grove?”
Cora nodded earnestly, and then looked down at her hands before making her next admission. “My father still has a lot of skepticism about you,” she admitted, keeping her eyes cast downward in shame at her father’s prejudice. “But if you came to church with us, he might start to see you the way I see you.”
“And how do you see me?” Roy asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I see someone who is good, just like your father told me about you before he died,” Cora said softly. “And I see my favorite friend.”
Roy gave a crooked smile that sent a storm of flutters in Cora’s chest. “So, we’re friends, huh?”
“Well,of coursewe’re friends!” Cora insisted. “I wouldn’t bother having lunch with someone everyday who isn’t my friend. I could just as easily leave these lunches here for you like a good Christian and be on my way. But… well, I enjoy our time together.”
Roy was quiet for a long moment before looking directly into her eyes and speaking with a tone softer than she had ever heard him use. “It’s been a really long time since anyone has called me their friend.”
“So… does that mean you’ll come to church with us?”
Roy was quiet for another moment, and Cora could tell he was conflicted. He gazed up at the sky with a distant look in his eyes before turning back to Cora. “Sure. I’ll come to church with you.”
Cora’s excitement got the better of her, and she threw her arms around Roy’s neck. “Thank you, thank you!” she said, her cheek rubbing against the rough stubble on his chin. Her sudden burst of enthusiasm caught Roy off guard, who started to lose his balance on the log, throwing his arm down to steady himself.
Suddenly, she realized what she was doing, and heat rushed to her cheeks. She quickly pulled back, her hand flying to her mouth. “Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry!”
Roy looked back at her with a mixture of surprise and amusement, but Cora didn’t give him a chance to speak.
“I have to go back home now, but I’mreallyexcited about your coming to church on Sunday.”
She gave him one last, shy smile and took off running toward home. She was embarrassed, feeling that she had made a fool of herself with her sudden display of emotion, not just with the hug but also with the way she had boldly reached out and touched his scar. She knew she would be as good as dead if her father had seen any of that.
At the same time, she couldn’t keep the wide grin from spreading across her face and planting itself there in permanence. Roy had agreed to come to Sunday service for the first time in a long time. This had to be an answer to her prayers that the repairs Roy was doing on the church would translate to repairs on his own heart and relationship with God. Perhaps his agreement to come to church was indeed God’s hand at work, and very soon Roy would find his way back to God.
The main reason Cora wanted Roy to come back to God, of course, was for the sake of his own spiritual well-being. But she would be lying to herself and to God if she didn’t admit that a small part of her was hoping that Roy restoring his relationship with God would mean Cora could hope for maybe, one day, more than just a friendship with the pastor’s son.
Chapter Sixteen
Roy woke up early that Sunday morning. Adrenaline raced through his veins, a combination of feeling both excited and nervous. His insides were buzzing with excitement as he thought about impressing Cora when he walked into the church wearing his Sunday best. At the same time, his stomach was churning with anxiety, and he knew there was no use attempting to eat breakfast.
This would be the first time in years that he had been back at church. The day before, he had visited the general store in town, using a small amount of the funds his father left him to buy his own clothing for church, something that didn’t come from his father’s wardrobe. He didn’t mind wearing his father’s clothes for daily occasions, but it felt different for church, as if he by wearing the same clothes his father once preached in from behind the pulpit, he would be stepping into his father’s shoes. That wasn’t an impression he wanted to make.
During his shopping he had chosen simple black trousers with suspenders that crossed at the back, a white button-up shirt, and a matching black jacket. Scrutinizing himself in the mirror as he combed his chin-length hair into submission, he realized he hardly recognized the man staring back at him. He didn’t look like his father, but in this getup, he didn’t look like himself either—he was someone else entirely.
The last thing he did before heading out the door was to retrieve his father’s Bible from his nightstand drawer. Roy didn’t have one of his own anymore—he didn’t take one with him when he left for Wheats Ridge, and he had no idea what his father might have done with his old copy, as it wasn’t anywhere in his childhood bedroom.
Roy mounted Iggy and headed toward Magnolia Grove, his nervousness growing every minute he got closer to the church. He wasn’t just nervous about the prospect of going to church, but also about Cora. He hadn’t seen her since their lunch on Friday, when she unexpectedly hugged him. He had hardly been able to think about anything else since.
Roy vividly remembered that moment. When most of the initial shock had worn off that her arms were around him, he had felt comforted by the soft warmth of her skin and the delicate smell of her hair, like wildflowers. He didn’t want her to let go.
Each time Roy entertained this memory, he mentally chided himself. He and Cora were only friends, and it was important that he didn’t allow himself to fantasize about anything more—especially when her father had plans for her to marry someone else. Even if that person was Alfred Mills, who had taunted Roy for being the pastor’s son since their days on the playground. Even at a young age, Alfred had already learned how to use his family prestige to belittle others, and he was good at it. Roy comforted himself with the knowledge that at least his wealth would mean that Cora would be taken care of.
Not being accustomed to making the trip to Magnolia Grove, Roy had miscalculated the time it would take to travel there by horse. By the time he had arrived, the service was just beginning, and everyone in the congregation had already taken their seats. He ran his hand nervously through his hair, already feeling like a failure at his first effort to return to church. He could already hear the townsfolks’ gossip.The son of the pastor couldn’t even make it to the service in time…
Roy slid in quietly, hoping not to draw too much attention to himself as he took a seat in the back row. A few people turned to look at him when he opened the door, and a look of surprise registered on a few faces, people who then nudged the person next to them and whispered in their ear. Roy’s face grew hot, and he kept his head down, thumbing through the hymn book to locate the correct page.
After about ten minutes of singing, the congregation took their seats, and Roy was relieved that the attention was now focused on Joseph Reynolds, the tall, lanky, blonde-haired pastor standing behind the pulpit. As he sat down, Roy caught a glimpse of Cora and Sheriff Williams across the aisle in the front row. Her golden hair glistened in the light of the window just to her left, and Roy swallowed hard, forcing his attention on the pastor and away from the memory of her soft hair against his face.
The pastor was giving a sermon based on I Corinthians 13 and the definition of love in the eyes of God. He spoke about the different types of love—romantic love, friendship love, the love between parents and their children, andagape. Agape, Pastor Reynolds explained, was a divine, spiritual love that transcends the limitations of all types of love between humans.
